500-bed student scheme for furniture warehouse

ANTIQUE furniture business Swainbanks has lodged plans for an ambitious student scheme at its property in north Liverpool.

The company has submitted plans for 506 “student studios” with commercial space on the ground floor at its Fox Street building, a Victorian warehouse.

Brief details lodged with the council suggest the scheme will incorporate the old warehouse and a new block linked by a glazed core.

Detailed drawings and reports are usually posted with applications on the city’s planning portal but these were not available at the time of publication. No one at Swainbanks could be reached for comment.

A description of the plan states: “Change of use and new build to provide 506 student accommodation studios with commercial/retail to ground floor, including demolition of rear extension and construction of a modern glazed link core, connecting new modern block to rear.”

The proposed scheme is a short distance from the city’s Islington district where property group Downing is planning around 1,000 student beds in several blocks.